Download River Valley Civilizations

River Valley Civilizations
The Gift of the Nile: Ancient
Egypt
Geography

North West Africa
(crossroads of three
continents)
Geography

Nile River
 Center of Egyptian economics and culture
 Annual, predictable flooding irrigates and
replenishes the soil.
 Sometimes called the “Black Lands” for its
rich soil. Red lands are the desert that runs
on either side of the Nile.
 Connects them to other cultures (flows
north/winds blow south
Geography

Natural Barriers
 North: Mediterranean Sea
 South: falls along the Nile
 East: Red Sea
 West: Desert
 Barriers prevented frequent invasions
Question

Would there be an Egypt without the
Nile?

Why do you think the Mississippi or Ohio
rivers never developed a civilization to
rival the Egyptian?
History
Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms
 3100 BC King Menes united Upper and
Lower Egypt
 Monarchs were very powerful and
considered divine

 Nine distinctive periods and numerous
dynasties
History
When things went bad, it was believed to
have been due to the subjects not obeying
the gods’ representative on earth
 Pharaoh “great house”-Theocracy/Dynasties

 Pharaohs would appoint a “vizier” or steward
of the land, and would be responsible for the
government bureaucracy.
 Egypt had 42 provinces, each with a governor
Religion-beliefs about death
“Cult of the Dead”
 Polytheistic
 Burial Practices-mummification

 Belief in two bodies: physical and spiritual
(Ka) and they needed each other, even after
death
 Elaborate 70 day process meant to preserve
the body so that the ka would be able to
return to the body
Pyramids (old kingdom)
Tombs to honor the
pharaoh
 Cities of the dead: The
pyramids are just part of
the complex of the overall
burial site
 Buried with many
(sometimes thousands)
of items. The discovery
of King Tut’s tomb is the
most important because it
was intact!

Pyramids

The pyramids are an engineering marvel
 Size: tallest structure on earth for 43
centuries/covers 13 football fields
 Complexity: 2 million precisely cut 2-ton
blocks
Writing System
Hieroglyphics
 Used Papyrus

Caste System: India
The Harappa Civilization
BC-1500 BC)

Is among the
ancient civilizations,
however, since we
have not translated
their language, we
know little about
them outside of
archeological
evidence.
(3000
The Harappa Civilization
 The major cities were
Harappa and
Mohenjo-Daro. An
advanced civilization
with planned, bricked
walled homes (some
up to three stories),
bathrooms with
drainage systems,
and other advances.
The Aryans


The Aryans invade the area around 1500
BC, creating the people of modern India.
Developed Sanskrit (a writing system) they
we have yet to fully translate, therefore we
do not know as much about this civilization
The Aryans

The caste system, a rigid system of five
social categories based on economic
and social position (Brahmins=priests,
Kshatriyas=warriors,
Vaisyas=commoners, Sutras=non-Aryan
peasants or artisans, and
Untouchables=slaves)
The Aryans
They advanced and education system for
their sons led by a Guru (teacher) and
continued to make a dominant culture.
 Due to the physical diversity of the Indian
subcontinent, many forms of economic
activities take place; mostly farming (in
spite of the monsoons), herding and
trading.
 Also, they developed Hinduism and
Buddhism.

Ancestor Worship: China
Shang Dynasty

Rise and fall of dynasties

veneration of ancestor (or
ancestor worship)-the one
who would lead them to
the hereafter.
Shang Dynasty

filial piety-where all are subordinate to
the head of the family and all members
know their place.

bronze works of art.
Zhou Dynasty

Mandate of Heaven which gave the king
authority from heaven as long as he ruled
the proper way (if not he was overthrown).
Language/Philosophy

pictographic written language

Terrace farming methods

three philosophies: Confucianism,
Taoism, and Legalism.
History

Printing

Civil Service Exam to be used by a
government.
Japan

Japan develops differently from China due
to Geography.

Samurai warriors and their code of
Bushido (way of the warrior) and the
Shoguns (general) who were the actual
power of Japan.
Japan

20% of Japan is arable.
Cradle of Western Civilization:
Mesopotamia
Geography

Fertile Crescent: The term describes a
crescent-shaped area of arable land,
probably more agriculturally productive in
antiquity than it is today.

Lack of natural barriers
History

A number of successive civilizations
occupied the same general area in a
series of rises and falls over the course
of several millenium.
Cultural Diffusion

That different cultures shared ideas and
characteristics is particularly important
to this region as ideas were shared (or
taken as they were conquered),
modified and improved upon.
 During this time period a number of
achievements started.
Achievements of the Different
Civilizations
 Sumerians
○ City-state Political
organization
○ Smelting of Medals:
Bronze Age, Iron Age
○ Wheel: 3450 BC
○ Ziggurats:
enormous, pyramidlike temples for
religious purposes
Achievements of the Different
Cultures

Sumerians
 Cuneiform Writing
 Epic of Gilgamesh
○ Early Literature: Story of
a young ruler and his
quest for immortality
○ Many note the similarities
in theme to the book of
Ecclesiastics in the Bible
○ Hammurabi’s Code (first
law code)
Achievements of the Different
Cultures

Phoenicians
 Alphabet
 Trading empire
Achievements of the Different
Cultures

Assyrians
 Communication
 Chariots
 Military Organization
 Empire building and organization
Achievements of the Different
Cultures

Persians
 Roads (empire wide communication system)
 Structure of government
 Standing Army
Achievements of the Different
Cultures

Hebrews
 Monotheistic Religion
 Torah/Law of Moses and the prophets
The Civilization/Culture that proved to be the longest
lasting, had very humble beginnings.
The Hebrews

Abraham
 Founded by Abraham of Ur (Sumer)
 Yahweh, “One God,” told him to take his
family and move to Canaan (The Promise
Land)
 Nomadic Herdsmen
The Hebrews
 Descendents
○ Isaac
 Ishmael (becomes the father of other tribes in the
Palestinian Region)
○ Jacob
 12 sons, each becoming one of the 12 tribes of Israel
 Renamed Israel
○ Joseph
 Moves the Hebrews to Egypt to escape famine.
 Hebrews slowly move into bondage and become slaves
to the Egyptians
The Exodus and Conquering
of Canaan
After 400 years of bondage, the Hebrew
people are led by Moses from Egypt
back to Canaan (the promised land)
 There they fight, retake the land, and set
up the kingdom of Israel
 King David is the most important of the
Hebrew monarchs

The Exodus and Conquering
of Canaan
They are conquered by the Babylonians
but allowed to keep their religious and
cultural practices
 They are allowed to return to Canaan
and rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem
 Conquered by the Roman Empire

The Exodus and Conquering
of Canaan
Diasporas: The Hebrews leave their
homeland and set up colonies around
the Roman Empire
 They become a persecuted minority
around the world, climaxing in Nazi
Germany’s Holocaust in the 20th
Century.

Beliefs
Monotheistic worship of Yahweh, the
only omnipotent being and one true god.
 Law Code: Ten Commandments and
Mosaic Law
 The Torah, the Talmud are the word of
God (Yahweh)
 The Hebrews believe they have a special
place in Yahweh’s plan for the world.

Beliefs

The Messiah The Prophets of Judaism
prophesy of the son of Yahweh who will
be a deliverer or savior to the Hebrew
people: the dead will be resurrected by
the Messiah.
Christianity
A religion founded on the belief that
Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the
Messiah that the Hebrew’s have been
waiting.
 Many Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews)
become followers of Jesus Christ
 Christianity becomes the most important
religion of the Western World.
